The steps leading up to the mountain gate on the opposite side were crowded with people.
Zhou Shaojin was shocked.
Fortunately, Mrs. Wang went to find a solution. Otherwise, if they were allowed to squeeze in like that, she would be fine, but I'm afraid that Mrs. Guo would be so angry that she would faint.
She quietly lowered the curtain of the sedan chair, and suddenly saw a green lotus-colored figure out of the corner of her eye.
The monkey back and wasp waist look very familiar.
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but lift the curtain and look out.
At the foot of the mountain, several men were following the crowd up the mountain.
While other places were so crowded that people couldn't move, they were able to move up smoothly.
The one walking in the middle was wearing a lotus-colored Hangzhou silk gown and a jade belt. The one on his left was wearing a royal blue gown with auspicious cloud patterns. He was tall and sturdy, and seemed to have been seen somewhere before. The one on his right was wearing a purple-red gown with five bats paying homage to the deceased. He was tall and fat, and his flesh seemed to be shaking when he walked. The three of them were followed by several sturdy men. One of them was tall and thin, wearing a brown fine cloth gown with a cloth belt of the same color tied around his waist. In the crowd, the background was inexplicably a bit desolate, as if he was a stranger who accidentally broke into the crowd.
But Zhou Shaojin looked like Huaishan.
"Could it be that Uncle Chi has made an appointment with his friends to visit Lingyin Temple?" she murmured.
If Uncle Chi really made an appointment with someone to visit Lingyin Temple, it would be difficult to bring them along. After all, Madam Guo was an elder, and they would have to consider her preferences. But the preferences of the elderly and the young were different.
It turns out that Uncle Chi secretly ran out to play!
Zhou Shaojin smiled and lowered the curtain of the sedan chair. He suddenly felt that Lingyin Temple had become much more friendly and he felt more at ease.
Famous ancient temples are all similar. After seeing the temples on Mount Putuo, looking at other temples will give you a feeling of "climbing Mount Tai and looking down on the world".
Zhou Shaojin followed Mrs. Guo to burn incense in the main hall, and Mrs. Wang accompanied them to the side room to interpret the divination.
Facing us, Cheng Chi was walking down the stairs with a group of people.
Zhou Shaojin was shocked.
The man wearing the royal blue robe with auspicious cloud patterns turned out to be the Xiao Zhenhai whom she met at the Jiangbei Bridge that day.
She didn't recognize the other one. He was white and plump like a steamed bun, with facial features squeezed together, but his skin was as rosy and smooth as a baby's, and as delicate as a baby's.
Huaishan, wearing a brown cotton gown, followed Cheng Chi with his hands folded in his sleeves, expressionless.
The eyes of several people suddenly met.
There was a gleam of light in Huaishan's eyes, but Cheng Chi was talking to Xiao Zhenhai with a normal expression.
Zhou Shaojin realized instantly that Cheng Chi was not willing to let these people know about her relationship with him.
She couldn't help but take a deep breath, trying to look calm, and looked at them curiously like those little girls who came to the temple fair for the first time. She grabbed Chunwan and whispered, "Be quiet!" Then she turned her attention to a woman selling snow pears with a basket next to her. She smiled and asked in Mandarin, "How much is this snow pear?"
"Three cents each!" the woman answered, lifting the blue cloth covering the basket and taking out a big, round one for Zhou Shaojin, "Miss, would you like to buy one?"
"Yes." Zhou Shaojin saw that Chunwan and the others had gathered around him, and no one even glanced at Cheng Chi, so he said, "We each want one." It was like a reward for their good behavior.
Cheng Chi passed by them.
Zhou Shaojin heard the man named Xiao Zhenhai say, "It's still Jiangnan that produces beautiful women! I didn't expect that I could meet a beauty just by strolling around. It's a pity that this girl is dressed in gorgeous clothes, and the pair of South Sea pearls on her head are rare South Sea pearls. It's obvious that she must be rich and noble. Otherwise, I could ask her whose family she is and take her back to be a concubine..."
The fat white man said, "Why bother with so much trouble? Just send someone to follow and take a look and we'll know the details. With Brother Xiao's financial resources and character, as long as he has the will, he can easily capture any girl..."
Zhou Shaojin was horrified.
No wonder Uncle Chi didn’t want those people to see the relationship between them. It turns out that neither of them are good people!
But why would Uncle Chi be with such a person
Zhou Shaojin pondered in his mind, took Chunwan's hand and ran to the ear room next to the side hall.
Mrs. Guo was being helped by Mrs. Wang to stand up in front of the monk's table. Seeing Zhou Shaojin's pale face, she couldn't help but frown and said, "Did you meet someone who was disrespectful to you?"
As she spoke, she glanced unhappily at Jiying who was following closely behind her.
Ji Ying was innocently trained and felt helpless. She muttered in her heart: It was Cheng Zichuan who told me to follow you closely... Besides, I have one eye on Zhou Shaojin...
"No, no." Zhou Shaojin hurried forward and took Madam Guo's arm, saying, "I saw the idle gang running rampant outside, so I hurried over."
Madam Guo looked slightly annoyed and said, "For such a large temple fair, shouldn't the government have sent people to patrol? How did those idle gangs get in?"
Mrs. Wang said hurriedly, "In previous years, there were always people watching over it. I don't know what's going on this year. I'll go take a look!"
"No, no." If Mrs. Wang and Cheng Chi met, she would definitely go up to greet him, and then the fact that Uncle Chi and his friends came to Lingyin Temple to burn incense would be hidden. Mrs. Guo would definitely be unhappy. Zhou Shaojin waved his hands at Mrs. Wang and said, "When I came, I saw some yamen runners going over there, so I avoided them - a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall, so as not to accidentally get involved."
What's the saying "A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall"? Are you timid and cowardly
Mrs. Wang disagreed in her heart, but she looked approving and replied with a smile.
Madam Guo didn't want to cause any trouble, so she told Madam Lu: "Go out and take a look. If they have gone far away, we can set off for West Lake! There are people everywhere. If we keep going like this, we'll be lucky if we can reach West Lake by dusk."
Zhou Shaojin wanted to buy more time for Cheng Chi, so he called Madam Lu with a smile and said, "Madam, please go and call Bi Tao in for me. I just asked her to buy pears but forgot to give her the money."
Nanny Lu smiled and said "OK", then left the ear room.
After a while, Bitao and several maids came in with pears.
Zhou Shaojin asked Bi Tao to put the pear in Madam Guo's sedan chair and said, "I didn't expect the weather to be so hot and the air is not good. I don't know if this pear tastes good, but it smells good. If you feel chest tightness, just smell this pear."
"You are very thoughtful." Mrs. Guo was very happy to hear that.
Madam Lu came in and said with a smile, "I walked around the hall and didn't see those idle gangs. I guess they have been taken care of by the government office."
Zhou Shaojin felt relieved.
Old Madam Guo nodded with satisfaction and said, "This is how a parent official should act!" With the help of Zhou Shaojin, she walked out of the ear room and went to Xiangyun Road on the side.
In front of the Moon Gate not far away, the sedan chair of Yutai Bank was waiting for them to come down the mountain.
Mrs. Wang laughed and said, "We donate hundreds of taels of silver to them every year. If they can't even do this little favor, who will believe in their family's incense in the future?"
Mrs. Guo smiled without commenting.
Everyone left Lingyin Temple together.
There were many people visiting the West Lake. By the time we found the pleasure boat arranged by Qin Ziping, the sun was already setting.
Mrs. Wang kept flattering Old Madam Guo: "You are really experienced. Although this is your first time in Hangzhou, you can guess most of the situation when you see it on the road. I am more than forty years older than you and I am also a grandmother, but I don't know when I will have the same look as you..."
Old Madam Guo laughed and kept sniffing the pear in her hand. It was obvious that she was very satisfied with Zhou Shaojin's idea.
Qin Ziping and several maids welcomed Mrs. Guo onto the boat.
Mrs. Guo saw that the maids looked unfamiliar and behaved in a rude manner, so she asked, "Where are these people from?"
Qin Ziping smiled and said, "I was originally a waiter on this ship, but I was afraid that we didn't have enough manpower, so I stayed here to help the girls for the time being."
Mrs. Guo nodded and led Zhou Shaojin to sit down in the cabin.
Unlike the pleasure boat they took from Jinling to Zhenjiang, this one was more gorgeous, with red painted wooden floors, yellow gauze palace lanterns, scarlet brocade cushions, pastel teacups and covered bowls, cloisonné enamel incense burners... not like what ordinary people use.
Qin Ziping explained with a smile: "This is the pleasure boat of Master Zong, the richest man in Jiangnan. He heard that the old lady was coming, so he sent it here specially."
Madam Guo’s husband and son were both appointed as junior nine ministers, and she had seen countless such fawning and flattery.
She sat on the bed without caring.
The boat started moving slowly.
At first Zhou Shaojin didn't notice it, thinking that the boat next to her had left the dock. When the scenery outside the window changed to clear mountains and green waters, she was shocked and said, "Uncle Chi hasn't boarded the boat yet! Aren't we waiting for Uncle Chi?"
"The fourth master will board the boat at the Leifeng Pagoda." Qin Ziping said with a smile, "He told me to accompany the old lady and the second cousin to see the scenery of West Lake first." Then he explained, "I don't know how many times the fourth master has come to West Lake."
The implication is that one is tired of the scenery around West Lake.
However, Zhou Shaojin didn't quite believe what Qin Ziping said.
She thought that Cheng Chi must have been unable to make it to the West Lake pier in time to join them in the trip because he had to accompany his friends, so he chose to board the ship at Leifeng Pagoda.
It can be seen that Uncle Chi’s friends are not that good!
If they were good friends, today being the Mid-Autumn Festival, they should have let Uncle Chi come back early to spend time with their family.
Zhou Shaojin would definitely not expose Cheng Chi. She secretly complained in her heart, fearing that Mrs. Guo would be upset because of this, so she smiled and tried to make fun of her in front of Mrs. Guo.
Mrs. Guo didn't seem to notice anything unusual and continued talking to Zhou Shaojin with a smile.
Three steps a scene, ten steps into a painting.
The scenery of West Lake is indeed worthy of its reputation, but when Zhou Shaojin heard Mrs. Wang say that these were man-made scenery, Zhou Shaojin suddenly lost interest and began to miss the grandeur and magnificence of the capital.
The boat finally reached the Lei Feng Tower, and it was getting dark.
Mrs. Wang asked Mrs. Guo if she wanted to go ashore to "get" a few bricks to take back to Nanjing.
Everyone was puzzled.
Mrs. Wang smiled and said, "In the previous dynasty, there was a woman who had been childless for a long time. She prayed to Buddha everywhere but could not get what she wanted. As a result, she went to Lingyin Temple to draw lots one day. The lot told her to offer whatever she saw when she left the temple. Who would have thought that the woman would see the Leifeng Pagoda when she left the temple. But her family was poor, how could she afford to offer a pagoda? The woman thought for a long time, took a brick back and offered it on the shrine, worshiping day and night. As a result, she gave birth to a son not long after. After this incident spread, women in Hangzhou often ran to the Leifeng Pagoda at night to take a few bricks back to offer... It is said that praying for a child is very effective."
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Sisters, today's extra update.
The evening update is around eleven o'clock.
O(∩_∩)O~
※(To be continued)